Warnings and Choices
by MarianTheLibrarian22
Summary: As Pyrrha goes to face Cinder, someone warns her of what is about to happen, leaving her with a difficult choice.
1. Part I

**_So this was something I started a while ago, and it ended up being a lot darker than I had originally intended. I was kind of thinking of different ways the season finale could have played out, and this kind of popped into my head. Originally it would be a way for Pyrrha to survive, but as I wrote it played out differently. Anyways, enjoy._**

Jaune was gone. Ren and Nora were back by the ships where they could escape. Her team was safe.

But Pyrrha was alone.

She had wanted it this way, with no collateral damage, no one else involved but her and Cinder. Jaune might hate her for what she had done, but Pyrrha hoped he could forgive her, and come to understand why this was what she had to do. This was her destiny.

She wished destiny wasn't so lonely.

Though she was thankful for the fact that Ren and Nora and Jaune were safe, she wished they were here, she missed the strength they gave her.

As she ran towards the tower, all of her instincts were screaming at her to turn around, to stop. She was powerful, but she was tired. She could still feel Amber's aura mixing with hers, and the sensation of having it ripped out of her as the Maiden died had left her head spinning. Pyrrha wanted to throw up and scream and cry but there was a woman atop that clocktower waiting to destroy the world and Pyrrha may have been the only thing standing in her way. She kept moving.

Suddenly, there was an intensely bright light. Pyrrha wondered for a moment if Cinder had decided to take the fight directly to her but as the glow faded she could see that it was not Cinder that stood in front of her, but someone else.

It was a Faunus girl with long, white rabbit ears and brown eyes. Her face was pale and she looked to be in a great deal of pain. "Pyrrha Nikos?"

"That is I. Who are you? What-"

The girl cut her off with a wave of her hand. "I...don't have time for that. There's someone here to see you."

She flickered and Ruby stood by her side. She looked different, older. She wore different clothes than she had been earlier. Pyrrha blinked in surprise. "Ruby?

"Pyrrha, if you go up into that clocktower you'll die!" No introductions, no explanations, this was all Ruby said.

Pyrrha's blood ran cold. "You...can't possibly know that."

"Yes I can! I watched it happen!" Ruby sounded panicked.

"It's my semblance. I can bend time." The faunus explained.

"You mean you can see the future." Pyrrha's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I'm _from_ the future. And I'm telling you that in the one I come from, the one where you face Cinder alone, you die."

"No. No, you're wrong." Pyrrha shook her head vehemently. "This is a trick. A lie. You were sent by her to stop me." She started to walk towards the tower once more. Time was running out, she had already wasted enough of it on the strange faunus- probably an illusion like the one in the arena… _Penny_.

"You want to know how it happens?" Ruby called after her. Pyrrha shouldn't have paid her any mind, should have just kept walking, but she didn't. She stopped. She listened.

Ruby sensed that she had Pyrrha's attention, and continued. "You go up there, and Cinder's waiting. And you'll fight her. You're strong Pyrrha, the best, but she's stronger and she's got the power of a god on her side. And that thing…" Ruby shuddered, gesturing to the dragon Grimm circling the city. "Bit by bit she'll taunt you, break you, deplete your aura until there's nothing left." her voice was starting to shake now. It was almost disturbing how much older she sounded, like Ruby but also not, broken and hardened. "You'll _keep fighting_. Even when you know... you're not going to be the one to leave that tower. When Cinder finally wins she shoots you twice. Once in the heel, once in the chest. That's when I…" Ruby trailed off. "I got there too late. Just in time for Cinder to turn you to ash and toss you to the wind. I'm sorry."

"But she didn't kill you?"

Ruby's silver eyes flashed. "Turns out, I have power too. When I saw you die...It was enough to bring it to the surface. It wasn't enough though."

Ruby fell silent, letting Pyrrha absorb everything she had just been told.

Pyrrha swallowed hard, looking up at the clocktower. "If I don't go up there, what happens? Nobody will stop her. You could never discover your powers."

Ruby shrugged. "All I know is what happens when you do. A pointless sacrifice of the girl who was key to winning this war."

It was an impossible choice. Death, or a thousand possibilities rippling out into the unknown.

The faunus girl, who had remained mostly silent throughout the exchange, cried out suddenly. Pyrrha took a step towards her. "What's wrong?"

"My semblance...isn't meant to be used like this. Bending time like this...for so long could…Ruby, we have to go."

"Goodbye, Pyrrha."

"Wait! What do I do?" Pyrrha pleaded with her. She needed someone to tell her how to decide the unimaginable.

Ruby had nothing left to offer. She and the faunus began to fade from view "You have a choice to make."

And so Pyrrha was alone once more.

 _You have a choice to make._ So she did.

To fight or to flee? To save herself, or to hope impossibly that Ruby was wrong? With each decision, how many more lives would be put at risk?

Time was almost up, and Pyrrha made up her mind. Even if she couldn't be the one to defeat Cinder, if all her efforts were in vain, she could slow her down, weaken her. Maybe _that_ was her destiny.

Pyrrha took a deep breath and without any further hesitation, walked into the tower.


	2. Part II

**_Ok so this was going to be a one-part thing but now it's a lot longer. Shoutout to LarkGirlWonder for editing and letting me use her OCs, Aven and Zahra. Enjoy part 2, and feel free to review or offer constructive feedback._**

It all played out exactly as Pyrrha had been warned it would. Her aura was gone, nothing was left to protect her. Cinder had the upper hand and Pyrrha wasn't going to get it back.

There were moments, small seconds, when she had thought she might actually win. When the impossible seemed within reach. The last of those moments had passed long ago.

 _You have a choice to make,_ Ruby had told her. Pyrrha had chosen wrong.

Cinder fired an arrow. Pyrrha threw Akuo to block it, then ran.

She barely made it a few steps before there was a stabbing pain radiating up her leg. A scream of pain tore out of her, and she fell to her knees.

 _This is it. This is the end._ And though Pyrrha had known from the moment she had set foot in the tower that this end was inevitable, she wasn't ready. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to be alone.

 _This is your destiny,_ a voice inside of her said, _You were meant to do this._

Instead of providing her comfort, the voice made her angry. _This is_ not _what I'm meant to do._ She struggled to stand but her leg wouldn't take her weight

Cinder was in front of her now, forcing Pyrrha to look her in the eye. "It is unfortunate that you were promised a power that was never yours, But take comfort in the fact that I will use it in ways you never could imagine."

Pyrrha didn't care what Cinder had to say, and she didn't want to think about how Cinder would use the Fall Maiden's power. This was her fault. If she had listened to Ozpin sooner…

Her leg hurt, worse than any injury she'd had before.

But as Cinder aimed another arrow, this one the shot that would end Pyrrha's life, her pain and guilt faded, replaced by clarity.

 _This is_ not _my end._ She would die, just as she had been told. There was no changing that. But she would come back. She would return if it meant she had to rise from nothing. _That_ would be her destiny, the one she chose for herself. The world had not seen the last of Pyrrha Nikos.

She was aware that Ruby-the one she knew- would be on her way by now. Too late. _I'm sorry you have to see this, Ruby._

CInder was smiling now, bowstring taut and ready to fire. Pyrrha vowed that one day their positions would be reversed.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

"Yes."

 _Then we will meet again soon._

The arrow pierced Pyrrha's chest, and pain took over. It was hard to breathe.

 _This is not the end._ She told herself again as her vision darkened. _It is just the end of the beginning._


	3. Part III

_**One year later**_

Sometimes Cinder felt like she was being followed. She had enemies that were searching for her, but this was different. She felt... haunted. A flash of green eyes in the corner of her vision, a girl's dying cry.

Pyrrha Nikos hadn't been the first person Cinder had killed and she certainly wasn't the last. But she was the one that stayed with her, even now.

 _"Do you believe in destiny?"_

A year ago Cinder had dismissed those words as a defeated girl clinging to hope. But remembering the determination and anger in Pyrrha's eyes as she died Cinder wondered if they had been a warning.

"It could just be a side effect of the Fall Maiden's powers. It could be that some of her aura held on too." Emerald had tried to assure her, but Cinder didn't find that particular thought comforting. Pyrrha Nikos had been a threat that Cinder could not leave alive- there was a reason Cinder had burned her to ashes. If even a small part of her remained...

But she had other matters to deal with. The other girl, Ruby Rose, had taken Pyrrha's place on Cinder's list of enemies. Her power was enough to rival Cinder's own, and that could not be allowed to stand. She would wipe the girl and her pathetic friends off the face of this earth. Then she could worry about ghosts and memories.

"Good news." Mercury announced, glancing up from his scroll. "Adam's men spotted those kids near Haven. He wants to know if they should be taken care of.

"No. I've seen what the girl can do. She's _mine._ "

"I'll get us an airship-"

Cinder cut off Emerald with a wave of a her hand. "No need." She smirked. "This is something I'll take care of myself."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Last time-"

"Last time I was unprepared. I let my guard down. It won't happen again." She shot Emerald a look that made it clear she was _not_ to be argued with.

 _Ruby Rose- time to learn that those who challenge my power must pay the price_.


	4. Part IV

_**This is another short chapter, I'm working on making the next few a little longer, but that means they may take a little longer to finish.**_

Aven flinched as she felt time shift around her, accommodating for the change she had just made. She'd never used her semblance for anything nearly this drastic, so the headache was ten times as bad as it usually was. A flood of altered events rushed at her, small ripple effects of their actions. A few changes- but not the one she had hoped for.

Ruby was looking at her with concern. "Did it work?"

Aven shook her head. "You wouldn't be asking me that if it did." She was the only one who remembered different versions of a timeline when she altered it- one of the many reasons she avoided doing so.

Ruby's face fell. "We failed her."

"Ruby, I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault. Any more interference would have made it worse, and I shouldn't have expected her to listen. She would never let others get hurt, even if it meant giving up her own life. She had no idea what it would lead to." The defeat and frustration in Ruby's tone was heartbreaking.

Jaune and Nora emerged from the trees. Jaune took one look at them and his shoulders slumped in disappointment. "It didn't work."

Aven knew Pyrrha had been his partner, and her death had been hardest on him. "It was a long shot. We did what we could."

"Why couldn't you just stop Cinder yourselves? Or go back and tell Ruby to hurry up and get there on time? What good is your semblance if you can't save her?"

"Jaune!" Nora set her hand on his shoulder. "None of this is Aven's fault."

"I know. Sorry. I just want .to be able to do _something_."

"She seemed like a wonderful person. I wish I had known her better." Seeing Pyrrha before her death had been strange, like meeting the subject of a legend. She had only know Pyrrha Nikos through stories and shared memories from her teammates.

"She didn't deserve to die alone."

"I-" Aven was cut off when Ren burst into the clearing followed by Aven's partner, Zahra.

"Cinder found us! We have to go!"

But flames the flames that sprung up around group told them they were too late.


	5. Part V

_The girl was seeing through someone else's eyes. She couldn't remember what her own body felt like but this wasn't it._

 _She realized she didn't know her own name._

 _How long had she been in the dark, drifting, aimless? All she knew was her own growing sense of urgency. There was something she was meant to do._

 _The body she was in was under someone else's control. The woman advanced on a small band of adolescents. All of them looked terrified, and the girl could have sworn she knew them._

 _One of the girls' eyes glowed silver as the woman approached. "Stay away!"_

 _The woman chuckled, a low and menacing sound. "Oh, I remember that little trick of yours, Ruby Rose."_

Ruby… _The name stirred something inside of the girl.. "...But how fast can you activate it?_

 _Fast enough to keep me from killing one of your friends?" She drew her bow and aimed it at the blonde boy's heart. "Even if you could, I know how to stop you. You're nothing, and soon you will be gone."_

 _It was seeing the boy's face that bought her back. She knew that face._

Jaune… _She knew his name._

 _She knew_ her _name. She was Pyrrha Nikos and she had chosen her destiny._

 _Hello again, Cinder._


	6. Part VI

_**Hey guys! This will unfortunately be my last update for the next month or so. I'm participating in a really amazing program that's going to take up a lot of my time for the next month or so. As soon as I have enough time to give this the attention it deserves, I will resume. For now, enjoy this section.**_

Ruby looked from Cinder to Jaune, who was staring down the Maiden. This scene was all too familiar to her.

Another friend, another killing shot.

And she was powerless.

"What do you _want_?"

Cinder grinned. "I was hoping to hear you say that. I want you _dead_ , little girl." With a flick of her wrist, a jet of wind and flame shot out, knocking Ruby back. "But first-"

Cinder aimed at Jaune once more. "You get to watch your friends die."

She fired.

"No!" This couldn't be happening, not again, not after everything-

Then, something unbelievable happened. The arrow stopped. In mid-air it just...froze. As if someone had grabbed ahold of it, kept it from reaching its target. "Aven?"

The faunus shook her head. "I didn't-"

" _What?!"_ Cinder's cry of disbelief bordered on hysterical.

The arrow started to glow, and the glow spread upwards until there was a shining silhouette standing in the clearing, forcing Ruby to shield her eyes.. " _Stay away from them!"_

The voice was furious and strong. Ruby knew that voice…

Cinder's eyes widened. "No… I _killed_ you."

"Hello again, Cinder."

The glow faded, and the figure was clear to everyone. " _Pyrrha?_ "

Everything about her was the same as a year ago. Her armour, her long red hair tied in a ponytail. Only Milo and Akuo were missing. The warrior girl stepped forward, practically snarling. "You don't hurt my friends, my _team."_

"You were _dead._ I turned you to ashes."

"I put myself back together again. Notice anything else?" One of Pyrrha's green eyes was ringed with flames.

" _How?!_ "

Pyrrha advanced towards Cinder, and Ruby was thankful she wasn't in her position. Pyrrha was practically radiating rage. "I wouldn't worry about how right now. I would worry about what happens next. You're powerless, Cinder." She towered over her enemy

"I killed you once. I can do it again." But Cinder was backing away, glancing nervously behind her. She had apparently decided against bringing her lackeys, and Ruby could guess that she was regretting that decision right now.

But Pyrrha had no intention to let her escape. "Go ahead and try." Flames sprung up, blocking Cinder's only exit. "You can try to run from destiny, but it's staring you in the face, Cinder. It will find you again."

Cinder drew her weapon. Pyrrha was unarmed but Ruby felt no fear for her, only awe.

Sure enough, when Cinder attacked, the blows seemed to bounce off of her like they were nothing. She held out a hand and a gust of wind threw Cinder back into a tree. "What was it that you said to me before you killed me?"

"No...please."

"You said you would use this power in ways I could never imagine. Did you imagine this?" A ball of fire shot at Cinder, who just barely dodged. Pyrrha was hovering a full foot off the ground now. This raw display of power was terrifying, even if it was at the hands of a friend.

Rage had twisted Pyrrha into someone none of them recognized.

Cinder wasn't going to go down without a fight. She still had some of the Fall Maiden's power, and as she got to her feet, her eye began to glow, the mirror image of Pyrrha. She lashed out, setting fire to the surrounding trees, but her attack was weak and left Pyrrha unscathed.

The Maidens were twin cyclones of wind and fire. The air chilled around them as the battle raged on.

Pyrrha attacked relentlessly, forcing Cinder onto the defensive. If there had been any metal at her disposal, Ruby had no doubt that Pyrrha would be unstoppable.

As it was she was winning easily. Cinder stumbled and fell to the ground as yet another blast of fire knocked her back. She answered with one of her own, but her hands were visibly shaking and her aim was off.

Pyrrha towered over her opponent. "You told me this power wasn't mine, but you were wrong. You stole it. I'm going to take it back." The leaves on the trees quivered, and the wind picked up. " _This is my destiny!_ " She raised a hand, Cinder was bombarded by a stream of frozen leaves, ice turning them into a hundred razor sharp knives. She screamed, and a golden flash indicated that her aura was gone.

Ruby had hated Cinder, but this was difficult to watch. Yet Pyrrha didn't even flinch. She stared down her former enemy, and there was no humanity left in her eyes.


	7. Part VII

**_Sorry it's been so long, I've had an amazing but also ridiculously busy summer._**

 ** _This is probably going to be the penultimate chapter of this story. I hope you like it!_**

Pyrrha knew nothing but her own power, her own endless anger at the woman who had destroyed so many lives including her own.

One blow. One burst of flame or wind to send her to the same fate that Pyrrha herself had met.

Cinder was crying now. One blow. Then it would be over at last.

She could have done it, too, but Jaune took hold of her arm. "Pyrrha, stop."

"I need to _finish_ this."

"You already _have_. We can take her prisoner. Take her with us to Haven. Just...don't do this."

He slipped his hand into hers and Pyrrha suddenly remembered what it was to love.

Her hatred gradually evaporated. "She has to pay for what she's done," she told Jaune, her partner, who she'd never thought she'd see again. There was no fury in her voice, just exhaustion.

"I know. But this isn't you."

Cinder stared up at them. "You're not going to kill me?"

Pyrrha fixed her with a glare that made the woman shrink away. "It's not my place to decide who lives and dies. I'm not you."

"You'll regret this." She spat, and there was a bright flash as Cinder unleashed what power she had left. Everyone hit the ground as the explosion shook the clearing. When the smoke finally cleared, Cinder was gone.

"No!" Pyrrha made to chase her, but Jaune's grip was still tight.

"Let her go. She can't hurt us any more."

Still, Pyrrha was reluctant to leave the Maiden. "She'll be back. She still has power. We can't just-"

"Yes we can. She's no match for you anymore. And… she's not anywhere near our biggest threat right now."

That was the moment when something inside of Pyrrha crumbled and suddenly her knees gave out. She was _so tired._ She buried her head in her hands and tried to make sense of everything that just happened. She was _back._ She had been dead, and now she wasn't. She had no idea how that was possible. She could feel the Fall Maiden's power inside of her, but it was accompanied by an emptiness, a hole occupied by the power that still belonged to Cinder.

When Pyrrha looked up again, all eyes were on her. There was complete silence in the forest.

"You're alive." Jaune said finally. "Pyrrha, you're _alive._ "

He knelt at her side and put his arms around her, and Pyrrha started to cry. With joy, with relief, with sadness for everything all of them had lost. Her memories began to return, replacing the blind rage that had fueled her.

Jaune was joined by Nora, then Ren. _My team._ "I'm sorry I was away for so long. I'm sorry it took me so long to come back."

"Are you kidding?" Nora disentangled herself from the rest of JNPR. "Pyrrha, you just came back from the dead to save us. That's _amazing."_

"I...suppose I did."

Ruby continued to stare in disbelief. "But _how?_ Cinder, she- I watched you die!" She kept her distance, as if even coming near Pyrrha would make her disappear again.

Pyrrha realized she had no answer.

Ren stepped in, breaking the tense silence. "We can talk about that-about everything- later. Let's give Pyrrha some time okay?" He helped Pyrrha to her feet, and stood by her side with Jaune and Nora, surrounding her protectively. Looking at them, Pyrrha felt a rush of gratitude.

Ruby nodded, but still kept her distance. It was then that Pyrrha noticed the other two girls, who she'd never seen before. A dark skinned, dark haired young woman stood beside a faunus with long white ears who-

"Oh!" Pyrrha realized that she _had_ seen the girl before. "You're the one from the future."

The faunus nodded. "Well, the present now."

"This is Aven, and her partner Zahra." Ruby explained. "They're heading to Haven with us."

"Haven? Why? And what…What happened at Beacon? How long has it been since I...well..." Pyrrha was afraid of the answer.

The look of worry the others exchanged only confirmed what she feared. Something terrible had happened. And she hadn't been there for it.

Jaune cleared his throat, not quite meeting her eyes. "We don't have to get into that right-"

"Jaune, _tell me._ "

Jaune sighed. "Okay, okay. Let's go for a walk." He pointed down a path leading out of the charred clearing. "I'll tell you everything."


	8. Part VIII

**_This is the final chapter of this story. Thanks for reading, liking, and reviewing!_**

Pyrrha couldn't sit still. It was late, past midnight, but she had no intention of sleeping anytime soon. Instead she sat staring into the fire that flickered at the center of the clearing, anxiously fingering the spot between her collarbones, the spot where Cinder's arrow had pierced her exposed skin.

It had been a year since then. She had been gone a whole _year._ So much had happened, so much had changed. She was only just beginning to grasp it all. She had spent the past several hours sorting through everything Jaune had told her and trying to make it make sense.

The White Fang had taken over Vale, and were already moving into Atlas and Vacuo. The only thing that stood between Adam's forces and the rest of Remnant were an underground group of rebels that Ruby believed she could contact from Haven. Blake was gone. Yang was hurt. Everything had fallen apart and Pyrrha had missed all of it.

Everyone had asked her what she remembered about it, about dying. And the honest answer was nothing. She remembered Ruby and the other girl-Aven, her name was Aven- warning her. She remembered her fight with Cinder, clinging to hope that she would make it out and then the moment she realized she wouldn't. Then-

Nothing. No blinding light, or Heaven or Hell. Nothing that gave her a clue as to why she was sitting here, by this fire, instead of ashes in the wind. She supposed it was some kind of miracle, something she should just accept and be glad of. But instead it scared her.

"Hey." Jaune appeared suddenly, making Pyrrha jump in surprise, reaching for a weapon that she didn't posses. "Sorry. You looked like you could use some company."

Jaune had grown up in the past year. His hair was longer, and he was least a few inches taller than he had been back then.

"It's okay. I'm just a little on edge at the moment." Pyrrha shifted over so that Jaune could sit down beside her.

"That's...understandable."Jaune stared at the ground, not looking at her.

An awkward, tense silence fell.

"Pyrrha-"

"Jaune, I-" They both began to speak at the same time.

"Go ahead."

"No, you-"

Their eyes met and Pyrrha laughed despite herself. "Okay. I'll go. Jaune, I owe you an apology."

Jaune frowned. 'What for?"

"For everything. For leaving you behind-I know you must have felt as if I betrayed you. And… for how I left things." _For kissing you and then leaving you alone._

Jaune shrugged. "We can deal with that later. That is, if you want to. Whenever you're ready. And as for betraying me… I was angry about that for a long time. At you, at myself, but I understand. You were putting your team first. I know how important that is." Pyrrha smiled, full of relief. Jaune didn't hate her. There was something she hadn't ruined. Jaune smiled back. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. Are you okay?"

 _How could I possibly be okay?_ Pyrrha held back the bitter words, reminding herself that Jaune wasn't to blame for any of this. If anyone was at fault here, it was her. "I'm...adjusting. Everything has changed and I still don't understand it all." Then she shook her head and forced a smile. "But don't worry about me. I will be fine."

Jaune set his hand on her shoulder. "You sure about that? I mean… everything that happened with Cinder must have been traumatic. And coming back like you did… it's okay if you're _not_ fine Pyrrha. You're allowed to be scared and confused. I know I would be."

 _He really has grown up,_ Pyrrha thought to herself. He was acting like a true leader, wise beyond his years. He somehow knew how to say exactly what she needed to hear. She leaned into his shoulder."Thank you, Jaune."

"Hey, any time. Do you want me to leave so you can sleep?"

Pyrrha shook her head. Sleep still seemed too close to the dark nothingness that she had been trapped in for the past year.

So Pyrrha and Jaune sat by the fire together together, remembering how things used to be.

 _I wish we could go back. I wish none of this had happened._

But being with Jaune again gave her hope. Hope that maybe one day they could fix what was broken, and that her true end would be a happy one.

END


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